It Is Your Turn to Break Down the Door
“Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”
“Don’t assume a door is closed; push on it. Do not assume if it was closed yesterday that it is closed today” (Marian Wright Edelman). If anyone has the right to challenge us to believe doors could be open, it is Marian Wright Edelman. Marian’s father was a Baptist minister who died suddenly when she was only 14 years old. Yet, she was blessed because both her parents instilled in her the value of education. Marian went to Spelman College in the fall of 1956, and an academic scholarship offered the opportunity to travel abroad. She studied at the Sorbonne University and the University of Geneva. Marian even studied in the Soviet Union as a Lisle Fellow.
When Marian returned to Spelman College for her senior year, she opened a door to the growing Civil Rights Movement. She was arrested in a sit-in, with 77 other students in Atlanta. After college graduation, Marian went to Yale Law School, where she graduated with honors. According to Wikipedia, “Edelman was the first African-American woman admitted to The Mississippi Bar in 1965.” Ponder, for a moment, the Deep South in 1965, and how shocking it would have been for a black woman to break down the door to the Mississippi Bar Association. Opening doors for the first time takes hard work and courage.
Wikipedia states that “In 1973, she founded the Children’s Defense Fund as a voice for poor children, children of color, and children with disabilities.” As a spokesperson, Marian worked with the United States Congress to overhaul Congress and protect neglected children. Her organization also worked to establish the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Marian Wright Edelman’s intellect and determination inspired Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and millions of others around the world to name injustice and take the next steps to legally transform a broken world. Marian Wright Edelman’s life is a blessed example that if we keep trying, God will bless our hard work. Most people whine and complain that the world isn’t a good enough place. Our task is to keep opening doors of opportunity so justice will win the day, and all people will have opportunity, security, and respect. Jesus is our best example of one who broke down doors for justice. Thank goodness for people like Marian Wright Edelman, who is another example of someone who never stops kicking down doors that need to be opened. Now, it is your turn. What doors is God placing before you? Instead of making a valid excuse, pick a door and do what it takes to open it, in Christ’s name!
